Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White is touring China and reports to investors that demand for the iPhone 5s in the Asian country is disappointing, while interest in Chinese brands like Xiaomi is on the rise. This cool sentiment towards the iPhone may change when an iPhone 6 model with a larger screen arrives later this year.

Interest in a large-screened iPhone model among Chinese vendors and carriers is reportedly very high, possibly making the next iPhone launch a "special" one for Apple.

Quote:

In the near term, we sensed disappointment around demand for the iPhone 5S. That said, we heard great enthusiasm around the potential for Apple to introduce a larger iPhone form factor in China this year with the iPhone 6. In our view, the iPhone 6 with a larger screen (e.g., 4.7-inch, 5.5-inch) has the potential to meaningfully accelerate Apple's growth trajectory in China during 2H:14. We have not heard this type of excitement in China around the iPhone in at least two years and thus we believe this could be a very special iPhone launch for Apple.

China has been a focus of Apple in recent years, with the company opening new retail stores and bringing both the iPhone and the iPad to wireless carriers in the Asian country. This year alone Apple has introduced a TD-LTE version of the iPad and launched both the iPhone 5s and 5c with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier with approximately 772 million subscribers.

Apple's next iPhone model is expected to arrive in two display sizes, with one near 4.7 inches and the other at approximately 5.5 inches. The 4.7-inch model may debut this fall, while the 5.5-inch is rumored to land sometime in 2015.

Making 4.7" & 5.5" models makes no sense. They will go with one new 5" iPhone 6. Tested the HTC M8 and Galaxy S5 recently. Both have 5" screens and both felt comfortable to hold and use. Use the same 5" screen in the next iPod touch to maximise economies of scale and boost sales to handheld gamers.

"In the near term, we sensed disappointment around demand for the iPhone 5S."

Really? Where are the numbers to back that claim? How can you say you're analyzing something objectively and base said "analysis" on how you "sense" it? Furthermore, what sort of an objective variable is "disappointment"? How do you measure it? Disappointment in regards to what, exactly?

Without proper data—and even more without proper analytical variables—, that's just claim chowder, nothing else.

__________________
Insanity: doing things always the same way while expecting different results.

I feel if Apple only release a 4.4" phone this year, they'd have to wait another year to release an even bigger phone. People would be totally annoyed had they bought an iPhone 6 not knowing a larger option was coming a few months later. Apple would need to confirm that a 5.5" phone was coming in early - mid 2015 although this would affect sales of the 4.4" device. Suggesting, if there's to be two size models, they'd need to announce/release them at the same time.

Now everything is clear.
iPhone 5c was also targeted to Chinese.
It's a bad idea of targeting such global product to a single very specific market.

Who says the 5C was targeted to China? It's an evolution of Apple's previous successful pattern making last year's high-end iPhone be this year's mid-range. And it has outsold previous year's midrange. Mission accomplished, it would seem.

And who says Apple has (or should) target the low-profit bottom end of the market?

As for the high end of the market, which is not small in China, see my link above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by losthorse

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

True: people thought that a BlackBerry keyboard was a necessity. Sometimes what people want is because they haven't tried something better.

But screen size is simpler than that: it's not a fundamental part of the experience the way a touch keyboard is. And it doesn't come with the obvious penalties (slow, crappy) that netbooks did. It has pluses and minuses, of course.

You can't say by definition that anything people want is wrong, and you can't say "old Apple" never responded to customers. They always have.

The iPhone is a maturing product. So, just like with laptops and desktops, a point comes where a choice of size is reasonable to offer. Balance that against the developer issues and it's something to weigh carefully. But the right time for it is not "never." I'd say it's now!

Whether this guy has any idea what he's "sensing" or not, it's entirely possible that China has particular cultural demand for a larger-screened phone. South Korea, for example, certainly seems to have a massive preference for massive phones. (Though one does wonder if that's not at least partly due to all of the homegrown company's flagship "phones" being huge.)

And really, it's fine if Apple decides to respond to that and make big phones if they do so in a way that also keeps them usable. Sometimes people aren't asking for what they really want, but sometimes there's a legitimate demand. But if Apple doesn't continue to make a reasonable, 4-inch iPhone also available, at or near flagship specs, I'm going to be seriously pissed.

It'll be hard to say for certain whether there's a market for smaller phones or not unless at some point Apple offers both simultaneously, since currently there are so few good small Android phones that the choice of good small phone overlaps entirely with the choice of iOS, so there's no way to separate one from the other. But I know for a fact that there is a market out there who really does want something about the size of the current iPhone for both one-hand usability and pocketability reasons, so if Apple, having proven that they know how to perfectly satisfy that demographic, subsequently fails to, I'm gonna call shenanigans.

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

For it's time the 3.5 and now 4 inch screens were great. But considering how much gets done on ones phone now, and as someone who really likes and enjoys the iPhone platform and uses it quite frequently in a one handed manner; I want a larger screened iPhone. (Not a phablet, but just something with a larger screen)

One of the biggest issues with a larger screen, is one handed use. Apple introduced swipe from edge gestures in iOS 7 and particularly the swipe from the left side of the screen to replace the 'tapping of the back button'. When implemented correctly, my thumb no longer needs to reach that pesky top left corner to go back to something within an app. So now, a larger screen is more plausible for one handed use.

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

ARE YOU SERIOUS? You have absolutely no notion about the market, especially outside the US, where Apple has less than 10% market share. People want and love bigger screens.

besides, obviously Apple would keep the 4" line, that people love. Everybody would be happy, besides trolls and people like you that have absolutely no idea of what is going around outside of their heads.

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

Strange you would quote a man who also almost ran his company into the ground by not releasing more models. And by the time he did, it was too late and Ford never quite recovered.

I love the current 5S form factor, and much prefer it over my 4.7" HTC. That said, I also recognize that there are people out there with larger hands and/or poorer eyesight who could benefit from a larger display.

In addition, most people in the world can't afford to buy both a tablet and a phone, and so Apple would do well to offer phablets.

I think offering multiple sizes should be seen as an evolution, similar to how Apple offered iPods in different colors, shapes and sizes; not as Apple's inability to create new products we didn't know we needed... that *may* come sometime this year.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

This quote is NOT an accurate analogy here.... It's more like Henry Ford made a car (which people wanted) but then stuck with it. Others were making Trucks and Vans and more, but stubborn Ford said "NO! You people just want a sedan dang it! You don't know what you want; I know what you want!"

That's just burying your head in the sand. People have spoken and most want a large screen phone. If you take out the iPhone almost all smartphones sold are 4.5-5.5". Most people don't buy the iphone because it has a smaller screen; they buy it because they like the design/iOS. I know many people who have an iPhone despite the small screen not because of it...

I used to be behind Apple in this too, but my screen just feels way too small now... I think 3.5" was perfect initially, but now the technology is here to make the phone's as small/thin as possible while getting to ~5".

Of course there is considerable interest in the iPhone 6 with a much larger screen. The 4.7 will not go over big as who cares about a .7 inch increase. The 5.7 will be a huge seller. Doesn't Apple have anyone in its Corp. that can think BIG?

This quote is NOT an accurate analogy here.... It's more like Henry Ford made a car (which people wanted) but then stuck with it. Others were making Trucks and Vans and more, but stubborn Ford said "NO! You people just want a sedan dang it! You don't know what you want; I know what you want!"

That's just burying your head in the sand. People have spoken and most want a large screen phone. If you take out the iPhone almost all smartphones sold are 4.5-5.5". Most people don't buy the iphone because it has a smaller screen; they buy it because they like the design/iOS. I know many people who have an iPhone despite the small screen not because of it...

I used to be behind Apple in this too, but my screen just feels way too small now... I think 3.5" was perfect initially, but now the technology is here to make the phone's as small/thin as possible while getting to ~5".

Indeed...
3.5" was awesome when those were mobile phones with some added features. Today's devices are no longer 'just phones'. They're multipurpose devices that happen to also do voice. Beside younger people don't use phones, they SMS and surf stuff.